AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I will.”
The girl wrapped up each piece in tissue paper, then looked up in surprise. “Oh, there she is now! That’s Beth. She’s the store manager.”
Tessa turned to see a striking woman walking into the store. She was backlit by the sun for a moment, but that didn’t take away from her long legs and curvy hips. This was a woman who didn’t wear a size six and knew how to make that a compliment. Then the door closed behind her, and the woman’s face came into view. Tessa frowned.
“Hi, Beth!” the salesclerk called. “We were just admiring the new collection. Everybody loves it.”
When her eyes locked on Tessa’s face, the woman stumbled a little, then caught herself and cleared her throat.
Beth. The name didn’t strike a chord, but Tessa was sure she’d seen her somewhere. She held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Tessa Donovan. Have we met before?”
“No!” the woman yelped.
Tessa dropped her hand in surprise.
“I mean… No. I’m sorry. I’m Beth Cantrell.” She grabbed Tessa’s hand and pumped it twice. “Thank you for coming into the store, Ms. Donovan.”
“Oh, no problem,” Tessa said, but she was talking to empty space. Beth Cantrell had already skirted around her and rushed toward the back room.
“Will this be cash or credit?” the girl behind the counter asked. Tessa handed the girl her credit card and frowned at the back room, wondering what had just happened. Weird.
And then something even weirder happened. Her phone rang, and the screen read “Kendall Group.”
“Oh, God,” she breathed. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.” She answered the phone calmly, but her hand shook as she signed the credit slip.
“Ms. Donovan?” an unfamiliar voice said. “This is Graham Kendall.”
“Who?” she asked in surprise.
“I’m Monica Kendall’s brother. I was hoping we could get together for lunch today. Or maybe dinner?”
“Um…” Her brain spun at a million miles an hour. Graham Kendall. Monica’s brother. Roland’s son. “I’m sorry. Of course, I’d love to have lunch with you, but what did you want to talk about?” She waved a thank-you at the clerk, then grabbed her bag and rushed out of the store as if he could see where she was over the phone line. Not appropriate.
“Assuming my father refuses to budge on the High West issue—and I think we both know he won’t—I might have an opportunity for you.”
She thought fast, trying to figure out where Graham stood in his father’s company. She couldn’t place him. “All right. Sure. I’d love to have lunch with you.”
He named a popular high-end place in Boulder and they agreed to meet at twelve. That would only give her two hours in the office before she had to duck out again. She’d wait to call Roland Kendall until after she met with his son. Then she’d get out of the brewery by seven, go home to shower and change and finagle her way back into Luke’s arms.
Maybe this didn’t have to be an awful day, after all.
THIS TIME, SHE’D remembered to bring a change of clothing to the brewery in case she ended up driving down to the Kendall Group offices again, so she felt completely confident when she walked into the restaurant wearing a sable-brown skirt and heels. It was nice to be seen without a logo attached to her breast as if she’d sold it for advertising space.
And for a moment, when she saw the man who stood as she approached the table, Tessa was glad she felt attractive. He was tall and handsome, and he offered a wide, white smile as she reached to shake his hand.
“Tessa, I’m Graham Kendall. It’s a pleasure.”
She shook his hand and took a seat, noticing he’d already ordered a bottle of wine and poured her a glass. Despite that she worked at a brewery, she wasn’t actually up for a half a bottle of wine in the middle of the afternoon, but the gesture was nice.
In fact, everything about him was nice. He was handsome and perfectly groomed. Their small talk was polite and natural. But something about her first impression was inching away as the minutes passed. His smile was just a touch too wide, and though his skin was buffed and tanned, a slight gray tinge rode beneath it. Yeah, she’d take Luke with his slightly rumpled hair and worried scowls any day.
But dating material or not, this guy might have something she needed. “So,” she ventured after they ordered their meals. “What did you want to talk about?”
“I heard my sister might have screwed over your deal with High West. So to speak.”
She cringed. “I’m still hoping your father will reconsider.”
“If there’s one thing both my sister and I can assure you of, it’s that my father isn’t big on reconsidering.”
